It was another special day in the courtroom in Haarlem.
In terms of security, it is somewhat reminiscent of our Schiphol airport. A conveyor belt, belts off, keys in the tray, laptop out (if you have one with you) and yes, you also have to identify yourself. This is not mandatory at almost any court, but it is in Haarlem.
What are they so afraid of you say? Once upstairs there is even a cop walking around.
Inside, three judges appear to be handling this case, three women.
The State Secretary’s lawyer does not actually have a plea. He does it off the cuff. I kind of get the feeling that he knows it’s a win for him.
Jeroen Pols does have a plea, and what kind. You should be able to watch the recording on Podkaars very soon. Incidentally, it is special to notice that hardly any point of Jeroen’s pleading note is addressed by the opposing party.
Many issues are discussed during the session.
Statement David Icke: In short, David Icke was banned for 26 Schengen countries for his opinion. That is censorship and that is forbidden.
State Secretary: David Icke is a threat to public order. He bases this on a number of reports from the DRIO, the AIVD and the NCTV.
The fact is that it all started with a complaint from the CIDI in which they indicated that they find it undesirable that David Icke came to proclaim his message in Amsterdam. In short, it’s about the content.
That is also the reason that Mayor Halsema could not forbid Icke to speak. According to the WOM (Public Manifestation Act), a municipality may not interfere with a demonstration in terms of content.
And then the Triangle went to the Minister of Security to see if they could keep Icke out of the Netherlands. And so it happened.
The following, from what was discussed in court, may be of interest to you:
ANTI GOVERNMENT EXTREMISTS
What I find most fascinating is the concept of ‘Anti Government Extremists’. So… if you do not agree with the government’s policy (which is now 80% of the population) then you are an extremist.
Now most people are not anti-government at all. People are anti-policy. People disagree with the way the policy is being implemented. But that’s not the same as anti-government.
GUILTY BY THE INTERPRATION OF OTHERS
What is also very interesting is that it was actually flatly admitted that David Icke may not be an anti-Semite himself, but that others may interpret his ideas as such.
Okay, wait a minute. So if I say that Rutte is responsible for the 1600 missing children, and you make a plan to slap Rutte in the face in response to my statement, then I am responsible for that.
GUILTY BY ASSOCIATION
And we could wait for it. Of course, the man who prepared an attack on Rutte, the torchbearer at Kaag’s doorstep and a few others, were all associated with the opinions of David Icke.
Of course there was also a lot of talk today about all kinds of legal articles. It mainly comes down to the interpretation of such an article. The fact is that this is about Freedom of Speech. That’s as clear as a lump.
David Icke was scheduled to speak at a Peace Demonstration in Amsterdam on November 6. As a result, the CIDI, through the municipality of Amsterdam, tried to forbid him to do so. And that was not because CIDI thought it would cause unrest. No! The CIDI claims that David Icke is a Jew-hater and Holocaust denier, which is an absolute lie.
Playing the anti-Semitic card has proven very effective in the past. Many people believe this and do not do their own research. Those small group of people who do their own research find out that it’s not true, but then the damage is already done. The large group does not investigate and simply adopts the rumor.
his was also one of the reasons today that I, with my Jewish background, contributed a piece of text that was released by the Jewish Council in 1941.
In it, the call is made to debunk the persistent rumors that are going on at that time about possible deportations. Less than a year later, large-scale transports to the extermination camps also started from the Netherlands. This article of course shows painfully what the consequences can be of restricting freedom of expression.
The verdict of the David Icke case against the IND will follow on 31 July 2023.